ReelzChannel Rolls Out Summer Originals

ReelzChannel, dedicated to movies, is debuting more original programming this summer -- a weekly series and new short-form content.

The network’s new show is What I Learned About (Blank) from the Movies, a weekly half-hour comedy. It will have a special sneak preview Sunday, July 8 at 8 p.m., and then premiere in its regular time period Monday, July 9 at 6:30 p.m.

The cheeky series aims to explore the “valuable life lessons” audiences pick up from their favorite movies, about “how people inform their lives from movies,” according to senior vice president of programming Ian Valentine.

The series will use clips from current and popular movies, with comedians as guest stars, to delve into what audiences have learned from movies on topics such as sex, weddings, being ruthless, surviving a disaster, surviving high school, getting divorced and how the underdog guy always seems to win the heart of the girl.

“We are a channel that’s all about movies 24/7,” Valentine said. “Movies are a form of entertainment. We don’t take ourselves utterly seriously. It would be pretentious to do so, and we see this show as a real celebration of the pop culture of which movies are a part.”

ReelzChannel bought 10 episodes of What I Learned About (Blank) from the Movies.

The network is also premiering original short-form programming.

Movie Takes will showcase movies and movie fans in short-form comedic interstitials that involve “real” people expressing their movie enthusiasm and peeves in passionate 30-second rants. New interstitials will premiere daily.

Miscasting is short-form animated comedy interstitials that speculate about what would happen if well-known superstar actors auditioned for iconic roles for which they were particularly ill-suited. For example, what if Woody Allen auditioned for the role of King Leonidas in 300, or Jackie Chan auditioned for BrokebackMountain, or Al Pacino auditioned to play the Will Ferrell character in Blades of Glory?

“The real value of the interstitials to us is that they speak to a multiplatform strategy,” Valentine said.

The half-minute shorts can be viewed online. ReelzChannel also plans to outsource branded versions of the interstitials to outlets such as YouTube, according to Valentine. And sponsors have expressed an interest in Movie Takes,he added.

The interstitials also “texture our air,” he added, and they help to “pull people through the ad pods.”